In 2021, This Young Woman Jumped Out Of A Window And Ran Into The Woods After Getting Into An Argument With Her Father’s Girlfriend: She Was Never Seen Or Heard From Again
In 2021, a quiet young woman from Tennessee leaped from her window wearing only her pajamas, rushed into the dense woods, and completely vanished– never heard from or seen again.
This is the strange story of 26-year-old Kaitlyn Ledbetter’s disappearance.
After being born in 1995, she grew up near her mother’s hometown outside of Indianapolis. Then, by the time she was a young adult, Kaitlyn lived with her father and his girlfriend in Hilham, Tennessee.
It was at her father’s home on Turkeytown Road that the 26-year-old got into an argument with her father’s girlfriend, Crystal.
The dispute began early on the chilly morning of May 2, 2021, at approximately 5:00 a.m. It remains unclear what the argument was about, but it was likely significant– because by the end, Kaitlyn ultimately jumped out of her bedroom window and fled the property.
At the time, she was wearing just a cropped t-shirt and pajama shorts. The 26-year-old also had no shoes on, did not bring her cell phone, and had no vehicle or other form of transportation.
The last time her father, Scotty, saw his daughter, she was running away from his house and into the woods. Afterward, Kaitlyn was never seen again.
Turkeytown Road is not a region where residents can go for a simple walk in the woods, either. According to Erik Hammock, a citizen of Overton County who decided to get involved in Kaitlyn’s case, the area is home to “some of the roughest terrain” with hills, hollers, and very steep declines.
“And it’s nothing something I would even be happy about doing if I had the gear that I needed to do it,” he added.
Facebook – pictured above is Kaitlyn
Erik decided to help out with the investigation into the 26-year-old’s disappearance after he felt that law enforcement did not step up to the plate. In fact, he shared his belief that investigators did not give Kaitlyn’s case anything close to the attention it deserved.
“I feel like in this area, if you’re not a certain type of person, then you don’t get the same response from law enforcement as other people do,” Erik said.
“You don’t get the same treatment as the guy in the nice neighborhood driving a Mercedes gets. You kind of get written off.”
To back up this claim, Erik revealed how the Overton County Sheriff’s Department did not conduct their first comprehensive search until a whopping nine months after the 26-year-old’s disappearance.
“I don’t know of any excuse that could have been given to me to say that we waited over nine months to do a search,” he noted.
Kaitlyn reportedly knew Terri Loftus quite well since she dated Terri’s son, Dustin. And according to Terri, there are so many other unanswered questions regarding the 26-year-old’s disappearance– aside from law enforcement’s incredibly slow jump to action.
“She’s missed her birthdays, her family’s birthdays, and special occasions, and no sound has come from her. Nothing. And I still don’t understand why she would have jumped out the window with that argument,” Terri explained.
“Why didn’t she go out the front door? So nothing about it really makes any sense.”
Then, just a few months after Kaitlyn disappeared, her father Scotty’s house burned down in a fire in August 2021.
On the day of the house fire, the local Hillham Fire Department arrived on the scene to extinguish the blaze. And at that point, they learned a resident was still inside the home.
So, other fire departments arrived to assist with the fire. But, on August 2, 2021, the house burned down, and any potential evidence from Kaitlyn’s disappearance disintegrated with it.
Scotty’s girlfriend, Crystal, was also killed in the tragedy– meaning that a prime witness to what happened the day Kaitlyn vanished was gone.
Even more troubling is the fact that Overton County Sheriff’s Department reportedly lost critical evidence. The new detective on Kaitlyn’s case reportedly told her family that the old detective lost text messages sent by the 26-year-old around the time of her disappearance.
“I’m not even sure what all he did lose. And I don’t know that they know what he lost. You know what I mean? If you don’t have a good evidence log, and evidence goes missing, how do you know what’s supposed to be there?” asked Erik.
So, it has now been nearly two years since Kaitlyn disappeared, and her loved ones have continued searching for answers.
Online, they created a Facebook group entitled “Kaitlyn Ledbetter – Missing Persons Case” to raise awareness about her disappearance. There, the details surrounding the 26-year-old’s case and any recent news coverage are routinely posted.
At the time of her disappearance, Kaitlyn was five foot two, weighed 160 pounds, and had blonde hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing white pajama shorts, a blue sleeveless cropped t-shirt, and no shoes. Kaitlyn has pierced ears, a nose piercing, and a tattoo of music notes with a feather on her forearm.
If you have any information regarding Kaitlyn’s disappearance or whereabouts, you are urged to contact the Overton County Sheriff’s Office at (931) 823-5635.
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